Jerry West had a basketball resume that didn't seem real. He was a three-time hall of famer as a player, Olympian, and an executive. If you dig a little deeper, his handprints are all over the NBA for the better part of 60 years at various levels.
He died Wednesday at the age of 86.
West, nicknamed “Mr. Clutch” for his late-game exploits as a player, went into the Hall of Fame as a player in 1980 and again as a member of the gold medal-winning 1960 U.S. Olympic Team in 2010. He will be enshrined for a third time later this year as a contributor, and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver called West “one of the greatest executives in sports history.”
He was an all-star for all 14 seasons he played for the Lakers that included nine trips to the NBA Finals. West came away with just one title in 1972 after years of battling the Celtic teams of the 1960s led by the great Bill Russell.
West was Finals MVP when the Lakers lost to the Boston Celtics in 1969 — the first year that award was given out, still the only time it went to a player on the losing team — and was selected as part of the NBA’s 75th anniversary team.
Former Norfolk State Spartan and fellow Basketball Hall of Famer Bob Dandridge had an up close view against West over five years, and says he got a surprise comment one time from him.
"He gave me a compliment, because at that time you just couldn't walk up and start a conversation with a superstar", he said. "He complimented me about my defense".
West was general manager of championship teams with the Lakers, helping build the “Showtime” dynasty. He also worked in the front offices of the Memphis Grizzlies, the Golden State Warriors and the Clippers.
Among his many highlights as an executive with the Lakers: He drafted Magic Johnson and James Worthy, then brought in Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal to form a powerhouse title-winning duo.
His basketball life bridged generations: West played with Elgin Baylor, whom he called “the most supportive and the greatest player of that era,” and Wilt Chamberlain. As a coach and executive, he worked with a who’s-who of NBA stars from the last 40 years: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Johnson, Worthy, O’Neal, Bryant, Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard and Paul George among them.
Dandridge felt when it came to West and his knowledge of talent, "There's a certain feel. You don't need to look at statistics. You can look at a guy for 10 minutes and say, ok that's my guy".
He was also a frequent visitor at the Portsmouth Invitational that had the top seniors in the country playing before various NBA and international scouts. Back in 2005, I asked him why some of the top seniors at the time were hesitant about coming to the tournament at Churchland High School.
"I think the sad thing about it is that the kids you'd love to see play here who commit and then their agents pull them out of it", he said. "It really makes you wonder, if you didn't have the guaranteed contracts in the NBA, all of them would be here."
Even in the final years of his life, West was considered basketball royalty. He routinely sat courtside at Summer League games in Las Vegas, often watching many games in a day while greeting long lines of players — LeBron James among them — who would approach to shake his hand.
Dandridge, now 76, says plenty will be missed about the man appropriately nicknamed, "The Logo".
"I will no longer had the opportunity to accidentally run into him and pick his brain or start a conversation or see that smile."
In his 2011 memoir, “West by West: My Charmed, Tormented Life,” West chronicled a lifelong battle with depression. He wrote that his childhood was devoid of love and filled with anger as a result of an abusive father. He often felt worthless, and to combat that, he said he put his energy into playing the game.
West led West Virginia University — where he is still the all-time leader in scoring average — to the NCAA final in 1959, when the Mountaineers lost by one point to California.
“Today is one of the saddest days ever for West Virginia University and the state of West Virginia,” Mountaineers athletic director Wren Baker said. “Mountaineer hearts all over the world are broken with the passing of the great Jerry West.”